Chaeles e



(No Model.)

O. E. BUELL. ELECTRIC INDIVIDUAL SIGNALING APPARATUS. No. 258,625.

Patented May 30, 1882 WJT NESSESi Am ANIMAL IINTTEE STATES PATENT EErcE.

CHARLES E. BUELL, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNEASSIGNMENTS, TO THE UNITED STATES TELEPHONE MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OFNEl/V YORK, N. Y.

ELECTRIC INDIVIDUALSIGNALING APPARATUS.

' SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 258,625, dated May30, 1882.

Application filed July 6, 1881.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES E. BUELL, a

citizen of the United States, residing at New Haven, county of NewHaven, and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Individual Signaling Apparatus, of which the followingisa specification.

The object of my invention is to provide means whereby anyone ofseveralstations upon the same telephone or telegraph line may be called orsignaled to the exclusion of the others.

In an application for Letters Patent of the United States filed April 4,1881, No. 29,884, I have described an apparatus for the same purpose, inwhich the bell-ringing devices are released or operated directly by anelectromaghet in a derived circuit thatis normally shortcircuited, saidelectro-magnet beingindependent of that used in setting the generalapparatus into condition for giving a signal.

My present invention is designed to simplify the construction of theapparatus therein described and to improve its operation.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 shows a telephone-line havingthree stations provided with my apparatus, and a centraloffice switchapparatus, like that described in my application before referred to, forsignaling to the Various stations and for placing anytwolinesinelectricalconnection. Fig.2shows a modified form of escapementand electric shunting device that may be used in place of that shown inFig. 1, but to which no claim is herein made, it having been describedand claimed in my application before referred to.

In Fig. 1, A represents a polarized electromagnetic receiving'iustrumentof any suitable construction, provided with a neutral armature, B, andapolarized armature, C, the latter carrying escapement-pallets thatengage with the teeth upon an escape-wheel, D, driven by clock-work orany suitable power. Bearin g upon the face of the escape-wheel is acircuit-closing spring, a, joined to the line upon one side of thestation, and forming under the usual condition of the apparatus aportion of a branch circuit around the coils of the electromagnet A,through the teeth of the wheel D,

(No model.)

the escapement-lever, the wire 2, and the rc- 5o sistance R, which isapproximately equal to that of the eleotro-magnet, but may be moreorless, as desired. Each escapement-wheel is provided at one pointin itsperiphery with a tooth of insulating material, as indicated in solidblack, whereby the derived circuit containing the resistance isbrokenwhen the wheel is rotated to a point where the tooth is engaged by thearmature, thus causing the whole current to circulate through the coilsof the elec- 6o tro-magnet. Each station is also provided with agravity-switch, S, for short-circuiting the telephone apparatus, andwith a signalingkey, K, which serves, when depressed, to shortcir'cuit aresistance, R so as to increase the strength of current flowing upon theline, and thus give a signal or call at the central office.

In place of the escapement and means for completing and breaking thederived circuit shown in Fig. l, I ordinarily prefer to use that shownin Fig. 2, the nature of which will be readily seen. In this case astar-wheel escapement is used, which is impelled step by step by themovements of the polarized armature without the employment of adriving-train. The derived circuit is normally from the resistaneeRdirectly to the wheel D or its supports, and out through the spring,asin Fig.1. When the wheel is rotated to a point where the spring restsupon an insulated block, I), let into the face of the wheel, the derivedcircuitis broken.

The escapement-wheelD is rotated to'the desired point for breaking thederived circuit; at any station by a series of reversals of thelinecurrent, and the signal is given by increasing the current to anextent suflicient to overcome the tension of the retracting-spring uponarmature B, said spring being adjusted above the strength of thereversed currents used in operatingthepolarized armature. The armature 0B is thus made in the present case to release a wheel, E, upon a train,which serves to give a vibratory motion to the hammer of a bell, F, in awell-known manner.

At the central oflice the devices for producing the desired changes inthe polarity and tension of the current consist ofa toothed wheel,

N, which is turned by a cra11k-hanclle,zand

which vibrates a lever, G, so as to make and break the short circuit ofa battery, as, and ot' a key, K which increases the tension of thecurrent by short-circuiting the resistance It. Batteries 00 and y areplaced with the same poles opposed to one another, and a0 is ofapproximately twice the number of cells of y. When mis short-circuited ysends,for instance, apositive current to line. When the short eircuit ofy is broken by the dropping of lever G battery wovercomes battery y andsends at current to line of the opposite polarity and ofthe samestrength.

At the top of each linestrip 4 ot' the switchboard is aswitch-lever, h,con nccted to line, and capable of being turned to connect the lineeither to one of a series of buttons which are shown as connectedthrough a wire, 10, to mainline or charging battery M B and to earth orto one of a similar series of buttons connected to a wire which leads toa key, K and'to the singaling apparatus through aswitch, S or directlythrough said switch to the same apparatus.

At the bottom of each line-strip is a switchlever adapted to connectsaid strip to a series of buttons connected through wire 12 to thetelephone apparatus M, whose other terminal is connected with switch g,through which a connection may be made with ground or with the terminalbutton of a series, with any one of which the lower series of switchesmay be thrown into contact. By these means any line may be connecteddirectly with the telephone apparatus at the central station and toearth; or any two lines may be connected together through saidapparatus. Similar telephone apparatus, M, may be interposed between anytwo lines by means of the two upper longitudinal series ofconnecting-buttons and wires, 8 S.

The terminals 9 9 are trunk-line connections, to which any subscribersline may be connected by the appropriate switch of the longitudinalseries to which 9 is connected. M and M are provided with the usualgravity-switches and local batteries, as shown. The horizontal series ofbuttons 9 may be used for connecting.

two lines directly with one another without passing through thetelephone apparatus.

Signals are given to the central office in the usual way, either by acircuit-breaking key, which breaks the circuit of the main battery M B,to which every line should be normally connected by its appropriateswitch-lever, or by increasing the resistance in the line, or bydiminishing it. In the present instance the keys K at subscribersstations transmit a signal by diminishing the resistance.

When the central-oftice operator desires to signal any particularstation the switch-lever h of the line upon which it is placed isconnected to the wire leading to the switch S and the pole-changing andtension-changing apparatus.

The operation is substantially as follows: Normally the insulating-teethupon the wheels D at the various stations are in different positionswith relation to the escapement-lever, and at all of the stations aconducting-tooth is in contact with the lever. Two paths are nu derthese circumstances provided at each station for the current-one throughthe coils of the electro-magnet and the other through the spring a,wheel I), conducting-tooth, lever, and resistance R. The diversion of aportion of the current through the latter path serves to weaken themagnet A sufiiciently to prevent it from drawing armature B forwardunder the action of the currents used in vibrating the polarizedarmature-lever.

To call any particular station the centraloifice operator turns thewheel N, thus producing a series of reversals of current upon the lineand allowing the wheels D to rotate step by step. When theinsulating-tooth at the station to be called has been brought intocontact with the escapement-lever, thus breaking the derived circuit,the central-oflice operator may, by depressing key K increase thetension of the current sufliciently to draw down the armature-lever Band operate the bell-ringing devices. The bells will be operated at noother stations, since in them all the derived circuit will be closed, soas to divert a portion of the circuit from the magnet and prevent thefull current from acting upon it.

The apparatus as thus constructed is simpler and more compact than thatdescribed in my application before referred to.

My invention is not limited to any particular construction or formofbell-ringing mechanism, and others may be substituted for that shownas operated or released by the action of the supplemental neutralarmature B.

Other kinds of escapement mechanism and other devices for breaking thederived circuit at the proper point may be employed in place of thatshown. So, also, other pole-changing and tension-changing devices may besubstituted for those described.

No claim is herein made to the ccntral-otfice apparatus herein shown, asthat is described and claimed in my application tiled April 4, 1881; nordo I make any claim herein to the combination, with an escapement orratchet wheel, of an arm ature for operating i t, arranged to both formpart of the same shunt-circuit, as this is claimed in my applicationtiled April 4, 1881.

\Vhat I claim as my invention is- 1. In a step-by-step signal mechanism,a polarized electro-magnetic receiving-instrument controllingstep-by-step circuit-breaking devices, and provided with a supplementalneutral armature controlling the hell.

2. In combination with bell devices and stepby-step mechanism whichserves to throw the bell devices into and out of operative electricalcondition, a polarized electromagnetic receiving-instrument providedwith a supplemental neutral armature.

3. The combination, substantially as described, in an individualsignaling apparatus, of a metal escapement-wheel connected to the mainelectric circuit on one side of said apparatus, and provided with aninsulated tooth, and an escapement-lever having conductingpa-lletselectrically connected with the circuit upon the other side of theapparatus.

4. The combination of an electromagnetic receiver provided with apolarized and a supplemental neutral armature, a circuit closer andbreaker normally closing a branch circuit around the electro-magnet,devices controlled by the polarized armature serving to operate thecircuit-closer so as to break the branch circuit at a predeterminedpoint in its movement, and bell-ringing devices operated by thesupplemental armature, substantially as described.

5. The combination of step-by-step mechanism, an electro-magnet in themain-line circuit controlling said mechanism, a derived circuit aroundsaid magnet controlled by the step-bystep mechanism, and containing aresistance, and a supplemental armature for said electromagnetcontrolling the bell-ringing devices, and adjusted above the tension ofthe line-currents used in operating the step-by-step mechanism.

CHARLES E. BUELL.

Witnesses:

EMMA M. GILLETT, WATSON J. NEWTON.

